Life in Color
by NCIS Obsession
Summary: Tony's life had been a little dull since she had left. Then a certain someone shows up unexpectedly, and makes things look a little brighter. Tiva one-shot. Set 3 years after Ziva left. No Tali (even though she's adorable).


**Welcome back to "Tiva-land," the realm of fanfiction where I blissfully ignore the fact that both Tony and Ziva are gone from NCIS and one is possibly dead. Yippee. (*sarcasm*)**

 **I've been writing and re-writing a story that I've been working on forever and it's going…really badly. So I got frustrated and wrote a different story instead. It's short, but very sweet, so I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Note: For the purposes of this story, Tali does not exist. (Not that I don't love Tali. She's the best thing NCIS has churned out since the beginning of Tiva! But it just works better without her here this time.)**

 **Now on with the story.**

Three years is a long time to be without the one you love.

To Tony DiNozzo, it felt like an eternity.

Day after day, week after week, year after year he sat at his same old desk, doing the same exact thing he had done for more than a decade. That wasn't to say that his job was boring. No, the life of a federal agent always kept you on your toes. But there had been a bit more…monotony, since she had left.

For the first year after Israel, he would find himself glancing over at her desk, half expecting to see her sitting there and smiling back.

The second year he felt himself starting to slip. Suddenly nothing in his life made sense. It was like living in black and white, while everyone else seemed to see in color. He remembered what it was like when life was in color for him, too.

Now, though, the memory of that color had faded. When he thought about what it had been like before, it was like looking at someone else's life. He had changed so much he hardly even recognized himself.

But somewhere, deep down, the old Tony was there. Still waiting. Still hoping.

And still loving her.

That's why, when the elevator doors opened and the entire NCIS bullpen fell silent, something sparked in Tony that made him stand up so fast that several items toppled off his desk and onto the floor.

The beautiful Israeli woman stepped off the elevator warily, smiling as she saw her old team. She walked toward them with a little more confidence than before, trying her best to ignore the intense stares of all the other employees.

"Ziva," Tony finally said with a strained voice. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her. There she was, after so many years gone, standing right there in front of him. He wanted to kiss her so bad that he was fidgeting where he stood. His heart told him to run right up to her and gather her in his arms and kiss her so passionately that she would never leave him again, but his head, particularly the part that frequently received slaps from his boss, told him that he should not do so in front of the present company.

Little did he know that the rest of the office could see his internal struggle, and knew exactly what was happening. He kept shooting quick glances at Gibbs every so often with an anxious look in his eye.

After this went on for an uncomfortably long time, Gibbs had finally had enough. "HEY!" he shouted, getting Tony's attention. He then rolled his eyes and nodded his head in the direction of Ziva, wordlessly giving Tony the go-ahead to do what he was obviously dying to do.

Tony's smile said it all as he sprung into action, practically leaping over his desk to get to Ziva. As soon as she was within reach, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her quickly to him, slightly catching her off guard. Like a drowning man desperate for air, he pressed his lips firmly on hers, moving his hands up to the curly hair he had scarcely let himself think about for the last 3 years.

Ziva dropped the bag she had been carrying and placed one hand on Tony's arm and the other on his cheek, kissing him passionately in return.

As they kissed, trapped in their own little world, the entire office tried to act like they weren't watching, quickly returning to their stations and pretending to get back to work. Who were they kidding; this sight was too good to pass up. Everyone had known that they were in love. It came as a shock when Tony had come home without her at first, and the change in Tony's behavior meant a quieter, less exciting work environment for everyone else.

It seemed he was back, now, though. The real Tony. The one everyone loathed to admit that they loved. Even Gibbs couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

At last, Tony and Ziva parted, blushing at the fact that they had become an office spectacle.

"I'm never letting you go again, Ziva," Tony said seriously, so that only she could hear. He drew her to him again, wrapping her in his arms as she smiled with her chin resting in the crook of his neck.

Suddenly, Tony could see everything in color again. The world seemed so much more beautiful; the future seemed so much brighter.

And he was much, much happier. Anthony DiNozzo was back. Not the lifeless, heartbroken, depressed man he had become when he was alone. No, that man was gone now, and hopefully for good.

With Ziva, he was once again the exuberant, charming man that he was before, and he promised to love and cherish her for as long as he lived.

 **I hope you enjoyed this one-shot! This all came from a plot bunny I've had written down for a while on my phone, where Tony wants to kiss Ziva but Gibbs is standing right there… Awkward! I'm not entirely sure this fic accomplished what I had in mind, but it's at least something to fill our Tiva hearts for the time being.**

 **Also, I've decided to start responding to your reviews via PM's, so be sure to tell me what you think of the story and I'll answer as soon as I can. It just makes things a little more fun.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **~NCIS Obsession**


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